I've installed my first linux(Slackware) at the age of 14 (im 35 now) .. since then I think i've been "programming" until i started working , when it became the thing that pay the bills.
Now... i think it's like everything in life ... i have bad days and good days , I've worked for places where i felt challenged and for other places where i was in only for the money (that never worked) , at the moment it kind of sucks ... I'm only in for the money (so is everyone else) so the job i do is not very challenging leaving a feeling of sort of emptiness , but as i said , it will change ... I've been here before and i know it can change very quickly . So all of you that feel quite down , have some patience and make a move , things will get better.
Same thing happening to me, in my good days I worked with giant tech people, and I left them because of money and another reason.Now each and every day I feels like doing nothing, don't know how to get out. Just looking where to go, where to concentrate. I really love programming but now days I feel Im lost.
It's a complex place to be , I'm looking for other jobs that seems to be the light at the end of the tunnel , and it makes you feel good that you're working towards a solution in a way, good luck!